Technological developments impose increasing demands on material properties to achieve desired objectives. On the other hand, improved material capabilities correspondingly can provide improved performance capabilities for corresponding products that incorporate the improved materials. Furthermore, composite materials have been found to be a way to combine desired properties of different compositions to obtain a material that benefits from the properties of the plurality of compositions.
Carbon fibers generally have been formed with a range of properties and morphologies. In particular, carbon nanotubes, which are generally cylindrical forms of graphitic carbon, exhibit useful mechanical and electrical properties including, for example, large tensile strength and large electrical conductivity. Carbon nanotubes can exist in single wall and multiple wall forms, both of which can be prepared by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) techniques. In general, process conditions such as, for example, deposition temperature and catalyst selection can influence the formation of the different structures. Additionally, carbon nanotubes can be electrically conducting or semiconducting, depending on structure.
Advanced products may require special handling approaches due to the sensitivity of the products to damage and degradation. In particular, some products, such as semi-conductor devices, silicon wafers, reticles and masks for manufacturing semiconductors, and the like, can be damaged during transportation, handling, and/or processing, for example, as a result of the products contacting each other or contacting supporting structure. Consequently, specialized substrate containers have been developed to transport these products. These specialized containers can be formed, for example, from molded thermoplastic materials, which have structure suitable for holding a plurality of products in a desired orientation within the container. The interior structure of these containers typically prevents the products from contacting each other, and thus helps reduce product damage that can occur during transportation of the products. Moreover, containers and carriers in the semiconductor processing industry often have conductive or static dissipative characteristics to prevent damage to substrates or components in the carrier.
Some articles have high electrical conductivities to appropriately function in their applications. Specifically, a range of components delivers high electrical conductivity within a corresponding device. For example, many electrical generation units incorporate electrically conductive elements. In particular, fuel cells can have bipolar plates that provide electrical conduction between neighboring cells connected in series while simultaneously providing for flow of fuels and oxidizing agents and preventing material flow between the neighboring cells. Similarly, many battery structures incorporate electrically conductive elements to facilitate electrical connection of the battery poles with the battery electrodes.